ARLINGTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A local man and his shop recently received a special gift from Tom Hanks in the form of a typewriter that the actor signed himself.
Tom Furrier owns a typewriter repair store in Arlington. He spoke with 7NEWS, saying he was shocked and thankful after receiving the gift, which even included a letter typed by Hanks.
Furrier owns Cambridge Typewriter. He said he is familiar with shipping and receiving typewriters.
When he received this package though, he found the autograph “Tom Hanks” scrawled across the top of the typewriter.
Hanks has a history of gifting machines from his personal collection, at one point telling the New York Times that he owned hundreds of typewriters.
In an attempt to save some space, he started sending them to friends, co-stars and even strangers.
Back in 2017, Hanks sent a typewriter to a family in Wellesley who had written him a letter.
“He’s a big supporter of people who love to type and of typewriter shops themselves,” Furrier said. “He’s unbelievable.”
The letter included with the typewriter said Hanks hopes Furrier can give the machine a new lease on life.
Furrier said he had heard of Hanks sending typewriters to smaller stores like his, but never imagined he would be so lucky.
He said even though they’re not for everyone, there’s still a magic to the old machines.
“I’ve had editors in here saying, ‘If you gave me two manuscripts — one typed on a computer and one on a typewriter — I can tell you which one is done on the typewriter because it was better.”
Furrier said he does plan to put the gifted typewriter up to sale in his shop.
He also said the letter from Hanks will be included in the sale.
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